Summer Research

The Center for Career Exploration and Development is launching a new internship fund to support students with financial need. Students applying for summer internships can apply to this scholarship fund, which provides up to $5000 of funding. Applications open January 21 and are due no later than April 1. Details about the program can be found here.

• Susan Allen: IC Ecotox Lab

  • Are you interested in how pollutants get into our environment, what concentrations they are found in, and if they are harming local aquatic species? If so, the IC EcoTox lab may be right for you! We are conducting research now on tire wear particles and forever chemicals (PFAS/PFOS). Our work includes both field work and lab work, as well as outreach in the local community. Summer research positions are typically filled by students who have been working in the lab for at least a year.

• Jake Brenner: ForCaPro and ICNL
  • Research on the Forest Carbon Project (ForCaPro) and trail system maintenance on Ithaca College Natural Lands (ICNL). This is fieldwork that takes place in adverse weather conditions and in remote areas with minimal services. No prior experience in these conditions is required, but students should expect and prepare for this type of work. Personal transportation for access to field sites is a plus, but not required.
  • ForCaPro research involves measuring 1,100 trees in 41 plots scattered throughout 561 acres of forested land. Students will be responsible for safely and effectively collecting the data in the field, maintaining data security and recordkeeping protocols, entering the data in a shared online database, and carrying out database quality controls. If time permits, students may undertake data analysis, interpret research results, and present findings.
  • Any time not spent on ForCaPro research (estimated as much as half of the total summer hours) will be spent on maintenance and repair of the ICNL trail system. Trail work involves hand tools and the same potentially adverse outdoor working conditions.
  • Worksite safety requires that students work in pairs on all tasks. Students are encouraged to find a partner before applying, but any student can be paired with any other student after application. Students must be willing to work with a partner for the duration of the summer. If only one student applies, this project cannot be offered. 
• Paula Turkon: Aquaponics Research
  • Aquaponics research during the summer of 2025 entails a mix of lab analysis, maintenance and system development, and outreach. Lab work includes monitoring of nutrients in fishtanks and growth experiments. Maintenance and system development depends on what is completed during Spring 2025 but will include completion of the attachment of a new fishtank and solids lift overflow system to remove waste as well as preparation for the 2025-26 academic year research. Outreach activities include processing harvest and marketing of produce for the IC Food Pantry and the development of educational outreach for grade-school and introductory college-level students.